Heavy rainfall and destructive winds are expected to impact parts of the far north Queensland region, as Tropical Cyclone Tiffany moves west across the coast near Cape Melville on Monday afternoon.
TC Tiffany has intensified into a category two system, sustaining winds of 110 kilometres per hour, with wind gusts reaching upwards of 130km per hour near the centre.
The system is currently located 25km northwest of Cape Melville and 185km north northwest of Cooktown and is moving west at 18km per hour.
Tiffany is expected to make landfall west of Cape Melville on Monday afternoon, before weakening slightly over land into the Gulf of Carpentaria.
Strong gales may extend north to Lockhart River and Cape Grenville if the cyclone takes a more northerly track during today and early Tuesday.
Destructive winds and heavy rainfall expected
The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has issues a severe weather warning for coastal communities between Cape Tribulation and Coen, including Cooktown.
A spokesperson for BoM said TC Tiffany will make landfall as a category two system on Monday afternoon.
"Given the small size of Tiffany, intensification could continue, however the circulation will start to feel the effects of the coastline within the next six hours and thus the current intensity is forecast to persist through to landfall," the spokesperson said.
"Tiffany will continue to be steered westward by a mid-level ridge to the south for the next several days. Late in the week another upper trough will weaken the ridge.
"The system will slow and possibly recurve to the southeast. This is likely to be after landfall on the Northern Territory coast, however considerable uncertainty remains with this timing."
Heavy rainfall is expected to persist through Monday and into Tuesday as the system moves across Cape York Peninsula.
Widespread 24 hour totals of 100 to 150mm are expected, with isolated 24 hour totals of 200 to 250mm possible.
As the system crosses the coast, abnormally high tides are expected between Cape Tribulation and Lockhart River today, but the sea level should not exceed the highest tide of the year.
Northern Territory coast on high alert
BoM expects TC Tiffany will intensify in the Gulf of Carpentaria and is forecasted to develop into a category three system in the western Gulf.
The system is then expected to move into the Gulf of Carpentaria on Tuesday and re-intensify quickly as it moves towards the Northern Territory coast.
A severe tropical cyclone coastal impact on the Northern Territory coast is possible on Wednesday or Thursday.
This story is developing and we will continue to update readers on any developments.
More Reading:
Want daily news highlights delivered to your inbox? Sign up to the North Queensland Register newsletter below.